


Colors

by byakugan_princess



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anal Sex, Awkward Itachi, Bottom Uchiha Itachi, Coming Out, Depression, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Itachi is Cute, M/M, NaruHina AF, Slow Build, Uchiha Itachi-centric, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-05
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-02-28 16:17:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,466
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13275216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/byakugan_princess/pseuds/byakugan_princess
Summary: Uchiha Itachi leads a near perfect life, but he feels something is missing. Surely at 18, one should have had at least a few romantic experiences, either emotional or sexual. Itachi hasn't had either but with the help of his best friend, a guy that considers Itachi his rival and one pink-haired lesbian, he is on his way to finding love and new things about himself.Or, a fic where Itachi opens himself up to unsuspected friendships and gets to bang a hot older guy~~~// KakaIta Centered! More ships/tags will be added as the story progresses, this is still a work in progress in my head. THIS IS AN ITACHI CENTERED FIC THAT FOCUSES ON HIS FRIENDSHIPS AS WELL, so there will not be any smut til later. Also, just wanted to write more SakuTen. //





	1. Slate

**Author's Note:**

> Back at it again with another KakaIta fic. More slow build for the smut than Homecoming and Acceptance, lol sorry. Hm, this story title is all thanks to the fact I started this big project (it's a painting of Sasuke's evolutions) and I had to buy more paint and literally while in the paint aisle I thought, " hm... Iris would make a great name for a fic chapter." And, ta-da!
> 
> Anyway, thanks to everyone that reads my awful work. I love you guys xx
> 
> Kishi-sensei owns Naruto, I don't own a thing.

_ Dripping  _ with sweat. That’s how the eldest son of prominent figures, Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto, woke up this morning. 

Uchiha Itachi could be described in many words.  _ Attractive _ . Genius. Wealthy. Distant. And, oh so very gay. 

 

It’s not like Itachi woke up at promptly 6am every morning, opened his large bay window and shouted to the gods about how gay he was, no. He was just sure--like 100% sure, that he was exclusively attracted to men. The feel of a pair of strong arms wrapped  _ tightly _ around his slender body like they belong glued to him and  _ only _ him. Rough yet gentle hands bringing his face closer to engulf him in hot, wet kisses. Or, so Itachi imagined. 

 

He brought long, slim fingers to his forehead, brushing away a few strands of black hair that were slicked to his face.  _ Another one of those dreams. _ The Uchiha set up in his bed and checked his phone. The lock screen, which boasted a picture of himself and his younger brother holding his Maine Coon, read 7:27 am. He woke up 3 minutes before his alarm and he immediately hated himself for it. He thought about saying  _ fuck it _ , and going back to sleep, finding pleasant escape in one of  _ those _ dreams. Instead, he pulled himself out of bed and staggered sleepily into his bathroom.

 

Itachi stripped. He stared at his pale skin in the mirror with intent as he pulled the red hair tie from his silky, long black hair. Not finding revelation, the Uchiha stepped into the pulsing stream of the shower, preferring it a little colder than most. After his shower, he dried his hair. Letting it flow loosely down his back and over his shoulders, he tugged at the warm towel that was hugging his hips, bracing himself for the cool, unfamiliar air of his bedroom. Itachi dressed, pulling a dark long sleeve over his head and black skinny jeans over his hips. He grabbed his mahogany cardigan and a scarf to match before sticking his phone in his back pocket, grabbing his bag and exiting his room.

 

Downstairs, his family looked pretty much perfectly conventional. His father was reading headlines on his tablet, while his mother filled his favourite mug with coffee.  _ Black _ . His younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke was simultaneously scarfing down his breakfast and scrolling through social media on his phone. Itachi mumbled something that sounded like good morning and his mother smiled and greeted him back, while his father and Sasuke kind of just  _ acknowledged  _ him with looks and nods.  He fished around in the cupboard for his travel mug and filled it 3\4ths of the way but using creamer and sugar to bring it to the rim. He screwed the top on and took a sip, sitting across from Sasuke. 

 

“Hn. The do--Naruto got a car yesterday.” Sasuke said, not pulling ebony eyes away from his phone, “but, it’s utterly ridiculous.” This time he turned his phone towards Itachi as he puffed out a breathy snicker. On the screen was a picture of Naruto, an athletic kid with bright blonde hair flashing a smile almost as bright as his hair but not quite as bright as the  _ blaze  _ orange GT-R, complete with a decal--a huge decal, of a multi-tailed fox, with big red feline eyes. 

Oh.

“Well, Sasuke. It suits him.” 

Mikoto curiously stepped around behind Itachi to take a peek at the Instagram picture. “It does suit him well. Aw, he looks so happy! What a cheerful kid.” Mikoto doted. She was the mom of all moms, doting on her sons’ friends as well and making everyone feel at home in her home. “Speaking of Naruto..” Mikoto started a conversation with Sasuke and Itachi dissociated himself, pulling out his own phone to hold his attention. He opened Instagram as well and saw the same picture of Naruto flash his timeline. 

_ God. He has grown up. Naruto is actually  _ **_desirable._ **

Itachi thought to himself. Not that he’d ever. Ever. He’d known him since he was a child. That was just weird. Not to mention... Naruto is  _ straight _ .

Itachi double-tapped the photo and continued scrolling, he didn’t follow many people he actually knew. Opting filling his follow list with artists and meme accounts. He scrolled a little more, seeing posts from Sasuke, or @iris.uchiha, a few from his classmates and his favourite cousins. As he was about to close the app he thumbed over his best friend’s post. Oh.

It was Kisame and two guys who appeared to be of the same age.  _ They must be on one of his teams. _ Kisame was a tall, well-built guy. Total jock. Spiky black hair. He was a junior in college but despite this, he and Itachi were still close. The campus was only an hour and 45 minutes away. The guy on the right of Kisame was a tan guy, with eyebrows too thick and too dark for comfort and a  _ pine _ tracksuit.  _ Interesting. _ But the guy to the right of ‘ _ eyebrows _ ’ was definitely a little more interesting.

The male was pale, paler than himself. His messy, just-woke-up-from-a-nap, hair was cloud grey and a few pieces fell in front of piercing, ash coloured eyes in a way that told he’d just pushed his body, physically. (Maybe a runner?) A pine scarf snaked his face, covering everything below his nose and  _ god _ , even with only half his face showing he was gorgeous. Just then did Itachi remember the school colors being pine and canary but he pushed that thought out of his head because honestly, all he wanted right now was to find out who this man was? He checked the photo for tags. None. Checked the comments. 

@waterisfree: good workout with these guys

@firery.youth: YES, MY FRIEND. Let’s be sure to do it again. Gotta keep those muscles BURNING.

Not him.

In that moment, Itachi was glad he had the right mind to ignore the urge to ask his best friend for said guys name. He cursed a silent ‘hn’ to himself and got up from the table. He kissed his mom on the cheek, who was washing the dishes that Sasuke left. He looked at his father, who was now on the phone. Business. He waved to him and he nodded. “See you.” he called into the kitchen.

At the door, he laced his boots, after slipping into them and grabbing his keys. Sasuke was pushing by as he pushed off the ground. “Oh, sorry aniki.” He said, still in hurry. “Sasuke! Sasuke, where are you hurrying to, we aren't late.” Itachi called out, finally making it out the door. He pulled it shut behind him just as his ears were teased with loud bass and rap music. 

Naruto.

“He came to show off his car,” Sasuke said as Itachi walked up beside him. Naruto jumped out of the car, his signature cheeky smile on his face. “Hey guys, want a ride?” Sasuke answered quickly, “No. Dobe.”

Naruto frowned and stuck out his tongue.  _ Cute. _

“Hehe, what about you Itachi.”  _ No. He’s cute but never would I ride in that thing. _ “Maybe next time, Naruto. I have to get going. Excuse me.” He evaded the two, walking towards the huge garage the Uchiha’s had. 

Itachi hopped inside of his onyx and chrome slicked BMW. He left Sasuke and Naruto in the driveway arguing, as EXES anthemed through his car.

 


	2. Mauve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Probably will post another update tomorrow, speed writing this af. So sorry, it is unbeta'd.
> 
> as always, thanks. and let me know how I'm doing. xx

Itachi parked his car in his usual parking space, next to someone’s eco-friendly hybrid and Hyuga Neji’s charcoal BMW. _Friends with classy tastes._ He looked through the _almost_ illegal tinted window, into the car beside him. Neji was pulling his long hair into a ponytail. He was a grade below Itachi but they were equally matched in intelligence and steps above everyone else in school. The only person that could even hold a candlestick to them was the Nara kid but he was too lazy to really push himself.   

Itachi stepped out of his car, gently closing the door and walking over to the driver side of Neji’s car. Groups of kids were in the parking lot. Some talking, some yelling, a few trying to get away with smoking on school grounds. Neji gracefully exited his car, “good morning, Itachi.” “Good morning,” Itachi greeted back. Neji was one of his closest--no, Neji was his only friend in this dreadful school. Aside from Sasuke, the Hyuga was one of the only people he could be himself around at school. 

Itachi looked at his friend. Neji was  _ vain. _ He had a right, with long mocha hair a little longer than Itachi’s, slender facial features and taut lips, oh and those Hyuga eyes that lingered between grey and lilac.  _ Easy 10. _ But, no one--no one was good enough, or deserved Neji.  _ Hn. _

Neji leaned against his car, pulling his sweater down pale forearms, “my weekend was hellacious, Hiashi requested I accompany Hinata while she,” he formed air quotations with a well-manicured hand “...shopped.” 

Itachi chuckled, “I assume that means Uzumaki was invited.” 

Neji closed his eyes, as frustration danced across his forehead. “I just cannot fathom how one can be so… so,”

“At ease.” Itachi finished for him.

In the distance, Itachi heard a familiar rhythm of bass and turned his head that direction. The Uchiha nudged Neji a bit. “Hey, speaking of…” The pair watched as the blaze car rolled into the parking lot, followed by Sasuke’s merlot Audi. Eyes were fixated on the  _loud_ contraption of a car until it parked. Naruto nearly  _ jumped  _ out of the vehicle in excitement and ran around the passenger's side, opening the door for the girl inside. 

“What in the hell?” Neji cursed as his cousin got out of the car. “If Hiashi-sama finds out about this he will kill me.” Itachi looked at the pair as they waited on Sasuke. Naruto picked them out of the crowd and waved happily. “HEY. NEJI!!! NEJI, OVER HERE!” Neji ducked, “I’ll see you later, Itachi.” Itachi followed suit, pacing himself to fall into step with Sasuke. “I see you weren’t so easily convinced, otouto.” Sasuke frowned, “I meant what I said.” Hinata, who had an orange jacket-clad arm around her turned around, “H-hi, Itachi-kun.” Itachi greeted her back and the lot of them walked into the school.

 

Itachi was watching the clock in AP Physics when his felt his phone vibrate against his leg. He reached down to read the text, knowing his teacher wouldn’t mind. 

_ What’s up, tachi? _

It was from Kisame. What a coincidence. He thought back to the picture this morning. Even if he asked him about the mystery guy, then  _ what. _ Itachi was still in high school, albeit a senior but this guy was probably amazing, and incredibly athletic and incredibly straight. That panged at him a little. Itachi replied.  _ Watching the clock, so ready for this class to be over. How are you? _

 

He shoved the phone back into his pocket. Class was almost over. He could tell because the chatter around him started to increase. He pulled his phone out again and checked his notifications. He had a snapchat from Sasuke, but it was from this morning. He opened it and watched as Naruto fumbled through how to ask Hinata if she wanted to ride with him. The caption read,  _ this dumbass. _

 

Itachi grinned. He wondered what it would be like to be on the receiving end of a nice gesture like that. Itachi had many wonders, especially since he’d never had  _ any--any _ sliver of romance in his life. He honestly didn’t mind, but he often had  _ those dreams. _ The kind that had him drowning in cold showers.  _ I guess it can’t be helped. _ He always said before he mentally shrugged and handled his  _ business.  _

The bell rang and the masses flooded the halls, he walked to the commons to meet up with Neji for lunch period. He found him and they circulated to the line where Neji grabbed a salad and Itachi grabbed an apple and some sugary juice. They sat at their usual table, where Sasuke and Naruto also sat, along with the Nara kid, his glutton friend that finished everyone’s leftovers, Neji’s friend Tenten, her girlfriend, Sakura who was actually pretty pleasant to be around, and some guy named Kiba that was obsessed with dogs. A few people that Itachi just associated sat with them too, like Deidara who was a senior like Itachi but he was a basket case and would argue the living shit out of you about art if you gave him even the  _ slightest _ opportunity. He and Naruto were distant cousins but they might as well had been brothers because Naruto treated him that way, regardless of how annoying the elder thought he was. Also, was his best friend, Sasori who Itachi also didn’t mind because he was pretty level minded and intelligent he just didn’t care about much. The student body had deemed the pair as a couple but they neither denied or confirmed it so people let it go. The table was relatively sizey and everyone pretty much spread out, respectively. Itachi took his seat beside Sasuke and Neji flanked in beside him. 

“You aren’t eating much, aniki. You didn’t eat breakfast either, are you okay.” Sasuke said with concern lining his face. No one else could tell but Itachi could and maybe Naruto, who was in the middle of a debate about who would win in a ninja fight if it were him or Kiba. Pretty much everyone stayed out of it, while the two argued on. “Yeah, Sasuke. I’m just not hungry.” Itachi shrugged but quickly flashed something that was almost a smile to validate himself. His brother looked at him for another long second before turning his attention to his plate of fries.

 

Itachi took a bite of the fruit, barely tasting it. He glanced a few seats down at the pink haired girl, who was currently one-handedly picking at her lunch while her other hand was loosely intertwined with her girlfriend’s. Feeling a pair of eyes on her she looked in the Uchiha’s direction and smiled. Itachi smiled back but quickly looked away, slightly embarrassed. Yet, he couldn’t help but wonder how someone could be  _ so _ relaxed,  _ so _ infatuated to show pda so nonchalantly. 

He was forced to mentally shrug the thought off when a certain insane blonde plopped in the seat across from him. 

“Uchiha, do you always have to have  _ that  _ look on your face _..  _ Like you’re better than all of us, un?” The blonde flipped his long bangs from his face, while forcefully jabbing a straw into the milk carton. Deidara. The eccentric was in his last year along with Itachi. He had also made it his personal goal to be better than Itachi, vowing to his goal since their 10th-grade year. 

Itachi didn’t acknowledge the blonde, but for some reason, he liked seeing him around school and lunch. He gave Deidara the attention he sought for a split second then looked off.

Deidara scoffed, “Just because you’re an Uchiha doesn’t mean you’re better than me, Itachi! I won’t go down easily, un!”

“Just shut the fuck up already.” Sasuke directed at Deidara. Without even looking up from his food, his words were like needles. Deidara huffed, mumbling a few words under his breath. Everyone knew not to fuck with Sasuke, especially when it pertained to Itachi. 

Itachi was usually quiet at lunch, sparingly adding commentary here and there or talking to Neji and today was no exception. He downed the rest of the juice before chucking it in a nearby bin along with his half-eaten fruit. “I’ll meet you in the parking after school, Tachi.” Sasuke called out before walking to his next class. Itachi nodded and followed suit, going in the opposite direction. 

  
  


“Hey! Itachi!” the familiar voice called out as Itachi was shutting his locker. The day had went by uneventfully and Itachi could not wait to go home. The ebony haired man turned around to identify the voice. “Oh, hi Sakura..?” Itachi purposely let the question linger on his lips.  _ What does she want? _ It’s not that he didn’t mind her, he was waist deep in surprise.

“Are you going home, Itachi-kun?” The _ rouge  _ haired girl asked with intent. “Uh, yeah I planned on it.” Itachi answered a little coldly. 

The silence between the pair was intense as they walked to the parking lot. Itachi felt bad and grudgingly broke it. “Why do you ask?”

The girl perked up a little, “well, I was just wondering if you could.. Maybe. Only if you aren’t busy. Well, help me study for AP Chemistry.” She rambled on as if to explain why she was incompetent, “You see. I signed up to take-- no, it  was demanded that I take AP sciences. I mean I’m intelligent. It’s just this one topic that isn’t sticking and we have an exam Friday. I mean, ugh. You’ve already taken it and you pretty much got a perfect score for the whole course.”

Itachi smiled, he covertly loved being known for things that came almost  _ too _ easy to him. Which is why he agreed, “of course Sakura. Um, do you want to come over or would a coffee shop be more comfortable?” The Uchiha treaded carefully in respect for her partner.

“A coffee shop would be fine, but it’s not like I don’t come over at least once a week, Itachi-kun” she giggled. Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto were pretty close and had been since grade school. The trio would often hang out together at each other's respective homes, sometimes bringing along other friends from their group as well.

“Aha, okay. I’ll meet you at The Roasting Bean around 5. Is that fine?” Itachi said as he shifted, realizing they were partially blocking the exit. 

“That’s great! I’ll text you, I still have your number.” she spotted Tenten in the dispersing crowd, “Thank you Itachi!” And she was off, falling into step with her partner as she loosely put her arm around her shoulder.

 

Itachi walked to his car, noticing his brother along with Neji, Naruto and Hinata standing around Neji’s. As he got closer he picked up the conversation.

“Hinata-sama, we are both due for kenpo in an hour.”

“I know Neji-niisan, I just want to...”

“You should let Hinata have a little fun, ya know?”

 

_ Neji’s being overprotective again.  _ Itachi silently walked up, standing beside his brother.

“Are you going home, otouto?”

“No. I have kendo practice, unfortunately. What took you so long,” Sasuke questioned.

“Ah,” Itachi unlocked his car with the key fob. “I was talking to Sakura-san.”

“Really,” Sasuke kind of asked, but mostly said in a shocked response.

“Yeah, I’m gonna tutor her.” Itachi shrugged, just realizing that maybe Sakura wanted that information disclosed.

“Hn. Wonder why she didn’t ask me or Nar-- well, me.” 

Itachi shrugged.

“Oh, well. I’ll see ya later, aniki.” The younger Uchiha took his leave, calling out to his best friend before walking to his vehicle.

Itachi followed, wanting to get home and grab some things before heading back out.


	3. Coral

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, I'm a day late but he's that update! I have another one for tomorrow and Tuesday then I will slow down starting Wednesday due to school but I'll still *try* to do one once a week AND update Homecoming and Acceptance. 
> 
> Thank you for all that have read this work, or any of my works. It keeps me going knowing that at least one person is a) into this ship and b) reading my work on this ship.
> 
> Lots of Saku and Itachi in this chapter! I'm falling for this blooming friendship.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading xx ; unbeta'd, sorry about that.

Itachi sipped on a drink too-sweet-to-be-coffee as he waited for Sakura. In her defense, he was always early, preferring to get settled before his company arrived. He reached into his bag retrieving the paper-clipped stack of papers. It was a good thing he kept all his notes, neatly in binders just in case Sasuke might need them. Although the prideful, younger Uchiha never did. 

The coffee shop’s door chimed. The girl looked around before locating Itachi. She walked over and sat her bag on an empty chair at the table. “Mind if I order something first, Itachi-kun?”

Itachi shook his head, and she thanked him again as she walked to the counter, leaving subtle scents of flowers and mint.  _ She probably showered before meeting here _ . Itachi noted, considering the change of clothes. She was bundled in a sweatshirt and matching sweatpants along with a scarf and fleece-lined boots to combat the crisp, cool air. She sat back at the table and unwrapped her scarf. “Thank you again, Itachi.”

“It’s no problem,” he replied. She pulled out her study materials and her book turning to the topic that was giving her trouble.

 

An hour into studying and Sakura had decided she was  _ so _ over it. “Ughh, can we please please take a break. This is information overload.” She half-joked.

“But, you’re understanding it all well,” Itachi took a sip of his coffee, by now he was on his second cup. “We can take ten minutes, though if you wish, Sakura-san.” 

She waved her hand playfully. “You don’t have to be formal with me,  _ just _ Sakura is fine.”

“Ah, okay.”

Itachi scribbled a few notes in his binder while Sakura messed around on her phone. She locked the screen and looked across the table at Itachi with easy-going green eyes. 

“Hey, Itachi.”

He looked up, “hm?”

“Do you have someone special to you?”

 

_ What? _

The straightforwardness in her words assured him she wasn’t talking about his friends, or his brother or family.  _ Gonna play stupid. _

“Of course Sakura, Sasuke is the most--”

“No, Itachi,” the girl interrupted and leaned across the wooden,  _ tawny _ table, reaching out to brush Itachi’s hand with taffy painted nails. She loosely rested her hand against his. “I mean, do you have a  _ special _ someone. A partner.”

_ Of course, that was what she meant. _ “Ah, can’t say that I do.” He blushed, warmth fleeing to paint pale cheeks. Naturally, not many people were aware of his sexuality but he was sure-- no, positive that Sasuke had mentioned it to Naruto and Sakura. Even without the gay angle, she was taken. Not only taken, she seemed  _ heavily infatuated. _

“What?! Really? Oh wow.” She jerked her hand back, embarrassedly. “Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just… I mean, I saw how you were looking at Ten and I, like… I know you’re gay but I figured you were missing your  _ lover. _ I guess I just assumed you had a hot, college boyfriend because like,  _ look at you. _ If I were straight, you and Sasuke would be hecking desirable to me.” she smiled.

Itachi chuckled, feeling a bit of relief. “Thanks, Sakura. Hm, but I’m not seeing anyone.”

“There’s no one you’re even remotely interested in?” she pried. 

Itachi racked his brain for a second.  _ Definitely not.  _ Unless you could count Kisame’s friend.  _ Oh, yeah. Kisame. _

Itachi had forgotten to text him back. Not that his best friend wouldn't mind, considering he was probably at swim practice or something of the sort. 

“Itachi? Are you ignoring me?” the rouge-haired girl pouted.

Itachi palmed his phone through the fabric of his jeans. “Of course not now let's get back to studying. You do want to pass this exam, correct?”

 

Itachi and Sakura buckled down for an hour and a half until they were both tired and over the smell of lattes and coffee beans. Sakura learned all that there was possible to know about chemical calculations, she was sure about that. Itachi was through.

 

The girl packed up her things, shoving everything into the oversized pink backpack. She threw it over her shoulder and bowed, “thank you so much Itachi!”

He waved his hands, “no need to thank me again, but you’re welcome.”

They walked out of the shop, the Uchiha holding the door open for her. The abnormal autumn chill making them both stick hands in pockets to retain their warmth. 

Sakura pulled out her phone, “shit.”

“Is something wrong?” the ebony haired man asked

“It’s nothing, Ten just texted me a while ago saying practice would be running late and she couldn’t pick me up right away.” She shoved the phone into the pocket of her hoodie.   

“Well, I can take you home. It’s not an issue.”

“No,” she shook her head. “I’m already indebted to you.”

Itachi demanded that she let him take her home and before she could really think about accepting the offer, she was skin-to-skin with expensive, custom stitched leather.

“Oh wow, ‘Tachi. You have such luxe taste.”

“Hn.” he uncomfortably replied. Sakura’s family weren’t poor. Upper middle class, like most of the students at their private high school but the Uchiha, the Hyuuga and the Uzumaki-Senju’s were loaded. 

The pair sat in almost silence, save for the light purr of the engine and some soft melody indie song. Itachi slowed down at an incoming stoplight.

“So, I don’t mean to pry into your love-life but have you ever  _ been _ with anyone? I don’t mean to assume you haven’t but it’s hard to believe someone like you has no romantic interests or a signif other. You’re not betrothed are you, Itachi?” She joked but there was a lingering hint of seriousness.

“What? No. Haha, the Uchiha’s are traditional but we aren’t  _ that _ traditional.”

Sakura laughed which made Itachi let out a light chuckle in response.

“I am so fangirling over you, and I’m sorry but I really want to help you out. There’s no reason someone as  _ beautiful _ as you shouldn’t be out there loving it up.” She pulled out her phone to tap away at the screen, probably texting someone.

“So what do you say, Itachi?”

Itachi, still mentally laughing at this conversation, loosened his grip on the steering wheel.

“Sakura, what do you mean help?” the Uchiha lightly asked.

Sakura looked at Itachi with rhetorical slash-fic eyes, “What do you mean? I’m gonna hook you up with someone! They are gonna be worthy, trust me and you both are gonna be hella cute together!”

“Uh, definitely not,” he protested. He didn’t need someone hanging around him, taking pity and setting him up with some idiot. Besides, he wasn’t lonely. True, he was lacking. True, he was utterly curious about having a partner. True, his younger brother was by far more experienced than himself, and true, he would probably never approach anyone himself for whatever reason he conjured in his head at the time. Maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to let Sakura try. Especially if it made her this excited. Besides, he always chucked things like things like his up to, being too busy to worry about.

 

He pulled into a neighbourhood of brick and stone houses that all pretty much looked the same. Locating the one with a family of pink flamingo statues settling in the yard (apparently it was Sakura’s idea and her dad pretty much cosigned the tacky display), he pulled into the driveway.

He parked the car and sighed, Sakura still staring with full intent.

“Okay.” he drew out.

“WHAT?? You mean it?! I can really do this?! Ah, I’m so excited!! We have to get started soon, Itachi. I tell you what, I’ll come over tomorrow. I’ll bring Naruto along so Sasuke is occupied. Wouldn’t want over-protective Sasuke-kun ruining this for me--er, us. Well, you.” She wrapped two slender arms around the Uchiha’s neck. “Trust me, Itachi. You won’t be disappointed, and thanks for the ride.” She hopped out of the car and gently closed the door, turning back to smile and wave as she walked to the hickory door.

 

Itachi ran his fingers through his hair as he waited for her to go inside before pulling off. “Hn,” he chuckled. “Maybe this won’t be  _ so _ bad.”


	4. Taffy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm late. Sorry. School is in full swing and I'm such a procrastinator. Also, this will be the first of two chapters in a 12-hour span because I'm nearly finished with the next one. 
> 
> Lots of ItaSaku friendship in these next two chapters. So there's that. 
> 
> Simultaneously working on Homecoming and Acceptance, for anyone that reads that as well. Anyway, thanks to everyone who reads this fic. I promise you, Kakashi will make his entrance into this fic soon. (;

Itachi picked at the vegetables on his plate, wishing it were something sweet, although he had all intention of eating his mother’s cooking, afraid of unintentionally offending her. His father was seated across from him and his mother beside Fugaku while Sasuke was on his right. They ate in their casual dining room which was adjoined to the kitchen. They saved their main dining room, which had a table that could seat 16 comfortably, for formal events or those  _ damned _ Uchiha family dinners that usually ended in drunken chaos, especially with his Uncle Madara seated at the head of the table. It was not in an Uchiha’s blood to handle alcohol well. 

 

Itachi looked over at Sasuke who was devouring his dinner.  _ Hn. _ Itachi stealthy breathed, Sasuke often paid more attention to his food to avoid the excruciating everyday small talk, Itachi didn’t blame him but it’s not as if  _ anyone at this table _ , save for Mikoto, were talkers. 

 

Fugaku set down his utensils and cleared his throat, “So, for the holiday, the celebration will be here. That means your uncles and cousins will be coming over so no bullshit, Sasuke.” Sasuke piped his head up, “Hn. Why did you call me out,  _ father. _ ” Signature Sasuke, opting to use father rather than traditional names when he’s being sarcastic. 

 

“You know why, don’t make me think about last year,” Fugaku replied calmly. “Anyway, none of that this year.” 

 

Itachi was silent, mentally dreading next week. Holidays with the extended Uchiha family were too intense, too stuffy and too draining. He loved his family but all of them together was explosive and he was not socially equipped for it. He finished his food, or most of it as Sasuke asked to be excused, offering to take his mother’s dish but teasingly ignoring their father. 

 

“That boy,” he smirked and shook his head. Itachi felt the older Uchiha’s eyes gaze upon him, sable eyes weighing him down.

“Itachi..”  _ slight pause _ “you doing okay, son?”

Itachi nodded, “yeah, just a long day.”

“Oh, yeah your mother said something about you tutoring the Haruno girl. How’s that coming along?”

“Pretty good, she’s smart and catches on quickly.”

Fugaku nodded, “I didn’t know you both were close like that..”  _ another pause  _ “heh, is she your girlfriend Itachi?”

Itachi almost spit out the water he sipped, in one smooth second he swallowed and  _ nearly _ slammed the glass on the table. “What, no! I mean, no she isn’t.” He relaxed in his chair, instantly feeling bad for overreacting. “I’m sorry,  _ otousan.  _ I’m not interested in her past our platonic relationship.”

Fugaku grinned, “I guess you’re too busy with your studies for girls anyway, right? Sasuke should learn from you, it’s okay though to unwind just a little Itachi.”

He wiped his hands with the napkin that lay in his lap and reached over to give Itachi’s shoulder a light squeeze.

Itachi gave his father a weak smile.  _ I wonder would you still think this way if you knew I was gay? _

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

_ “Who all is going to be there?” _

_ “Shit, I’m down.”  _

_ “I don’t want to go but I guess it can't be helped.” _

 

Itachi sat at the table, lunch in tow, opting for a bento made by his mother today. Not that it was out of the ordinary but everyone was louder than usual. He turned to Neji, unwrapping the box, “anything happen?”

 

Neji sighed, “That blonde idiot, mine, not yours, is having some sort of gathering and of course I have to attend.”

_Poor Neji._ “Hn,” he gave his friend a light pat on the shoulder, “sorry, Neji.” The  raven-haired Uchiha couldn’t help but chuckle. “If it makes you feel any better, next week I have to be subjected to the extended Uchiha family, in my only place of solitude.” 

 

Neji offered a chuckle in return, “heh, I guess you win. I see the majority of my family on an everyday basis so I’m used to it.”

 

Sasuke sat down in his usual spot next to Itachi who was currently gracefully eating rice, “hey, Itachi.”  _ Nod. _ A few seconds later, the  _ rouge  _ haired girl sat in front of him, “hey, Sasuke” she flashed a smile. “Hn,” was all he replied.

 

“Haha, good to see you too, you bastard. Anyway, Itachi?” she reflected her attention to the elder Uchiha, “I wanted to say thanks for this week, but I think I’m all ready for the exam tomorrow.” Itachi made sure she knew it was no problem. She blushed a little and reached over to squeeze his hand. “Our little secret is still in the works, right?” This time Itachi blushed a little. “Yeah, of course.”

 

Sasuke shot Itachi a ‘what the hell was that look’ as Sakura got up to go back to her end of their table. “Oh, are you guys going to Naruto’s party tomorrow.” 

Sasuke gave her a short, ‘yeah’ while the question lingered in the air for Itachi.

“Yeah, Itachi’s going too,” Neji answered for him.

“What, really? Sweet, I’ll see you there Itachi!” Sakura walked back to her seat.

 

Itachi glared at Neji but didn’t say anything. Instead, he thought back to his father's words,  _ ‘it’s okay to unwind a little Itachi. _

 

And he was going to do just that.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Itachi waited at his car for Sakura. It was Friday. School was out next week for break and tonight was Naruto’s get together. He looked at his phone as he leaned against his car, he opened his messages to reply back to Kisame. 

 

_ I know, I feel like it’s been forever. Travel safe. _

 

His best friend was also coming home for break, it’d be nice to hang out with him after so long.  _ Maybe I can ask him about his friend. _ Itachi laughed to himself, mentally.

 

Sakura came into view, kissing the uniform-clad brunette, who had basketball practice but promised she’d be at the party, “before the cops show up and shut it all down.”

That made Itachi a little uneasy but whatever, he was going to socialize tonight---with attractive guys. Because Naruto, and his family, in particular, were well-liked, he had a lot of friends, even ones who didn’t live in the city. There was truly no guessing who you would meet hanging around Uzumaki.

 

“Do you want to meet me at my place or what? I don’t want to drive but I also don’t want to leave my car at your house. Fugaku-san can be kinda scary sometimes.” Sakura expressed after clutching her belongings to her. “Plus, Rose would stand out like a sore thumb in the Uchiha garage,” she joked. It only took Itachi a second to realize Rose was her  _ taffy pink _ Toyota Yaris.  _ Makes sense.  _ “It’s fine, I’ll come pick you up, well.. Sasuke and I will. When I told my parents I was going they made me Sasuke’s official babysitter to make sure he doesn’t ‘get in any trouble.’” 

 

Itachi surprisingly took to Sakura pretty easily although he wasn’t quite comfortable with her habitual texting, he did find her random snapchats to him humorous and actually, she  _ wasn’t _ that annoying. Just a girl that cared about people, talked about her girlfriend and loved any and everything relating to pink and human anatomy.

 

Itachi didn’t know she was so into anatomy before but when he tutored her Wednesday she’d taken a break to call someone. 

 

_ “Sorry Itachi, I have to take this.” _

_ “Oh, it’s fine go ahead.” _

 

_ The girl stepped outside for ten minutes. Itachi watched her figure outside of the window as she leaned her back against the glass. She returned tucking her phone into the hoodie pocket. _

 

_ “Ha, sorry. That was my.. Um. Hm. My mentor, who’s also a close family friend. She was giving me information on a scholarship the college she works at is offering. _

 

_ “Oh, wow. You’re only a sophomore and already thinking about college.” _

 

_ “Yeah! Of course, like I have a fund for college but I want to be sure I can cover books and living expenses.” _

 

_ “Well do you know what you want to study in.” _

 

_ “I’m not quite sure but definitely want something that involves anatomy. My mentor is the director of Human Sciences and Medical Education so I’ve always had a thing for medical subjects but my favorite is the human body and how it works.” _

 

“That’s fine. I can see why they would be worried about Sasuke, haha. But, he is hot as hell. If I wasn't gay I’d definitely be hella into him, maybe in some alternate universe we were meant to be together,” she laughed and shrugged. 

 

“Anyway, I’m excited. Kushina-chan is going to kill Naruto when they come back.” 

 

“Ah, he didn’t tell them?” 

 

Sakura was silent. “Hehe, actually he told them Sasuke and I would come over, so they assumed Ten would come too along with Neji and if Neji came then of course Hina-chan but, the only reason they were okay with it is because he said you were coming as well.”

 

Itachi started to speak, “Well, that’s goo--wait, what? No. He is not going to use me as a scapegoat. If these people trash their house his parents will tell mine and otousan will kill me.”

 

Sakura tried to hold her laugh, “Itachi, Itachi. It’s cool. It’ll be fine. They know their son his an idiot and you would  _ never  _ allow such a thing. Besides, it’ll be clean by then.” 

 

Itachi eased a bit, “hn, fine.”

 

She unlocked her car with the key fob and Itachi looked in the emptying parking lot at the sound of her alarm beep. “I’ll see you tonight, around 8?”

 

“See you then.”

 

Neji had already left, with Hinata in tow, wanting to get in as much solitude as possible before he was forced into socialization.

 

He thought about leaving as well but instead walked over to Sasuke who was talking to Naruto. The talk of today was the party, the kickstart to their week-long break.

 

“Itachi!” Naruto screeched. “Dude, I can’t believe you’re comin’ like, usually you aren’t into these kinds of things, ya know?

 

“Well. I don’t think I had much of a choice after someone told their parents I was coming anyway.”

 

Naruto shifted his feet looking down. “Huhu, sorry about that… WAIT. HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?” 

 

“Hn. Anyway, I’ll see you at home Sasuke. See you later, Naruto.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“I’m home.” Itachi echoed into the house. Mikoto poked her head out of her office, “Hi, honey. How was your day?” 

“It was okay, pretty much just exams before the break.”

“Right, I know you did well. Oh, if you want something I made some sandwiches. I have a bit more work to finish up for today.”

“Oh, I’m fine, okaasan.”

She smiled and returned to her work.

 

Itachi went up to his room and dropped his bag on his bed, walking over to open his closet.  _ What do I even wear? _ He looked through his clothing at the black, greys and shades of blue here and there.  _ I am so versatile _ , Itachi scoffed at himself mentally. He pulled his phone from his pocket at the familiar ‘ding.’ 

 

Kisame.

_ I’m about an hour away, the drive feels a lot shorter this time.  _

 

_ That’s great. Can you talk right now? _

 

Itachi sat on the edge of his bed, and a second later his phone rang.

 

_ “What’s up?” _ Kisame’s deep voice coed through the speaker

 

“You’ll never believe this but I’m going to a party later.”

 

 _“You’re right I don’t believe it._ _Seriously.”_

 

“I’m dead serious.”

 

There was a bit of silence and Itachi heard a light chuckle.

 

_ “Should I even ask why.” _

 

“No.”

 

_ “Ha, good. Anyway, what did you need?” _

 

Itachi went straight to the point, “what attire does one wear to a house party?” 

 

_ “Hm, anything. Nothing you’d want to get ruined though. Depending on the group they can get messy. Who’s party?” _

 

“Uzumaki.”

 

_ “Yeah, nothing you’d want to get ruined. I’ve heard his can be wild. I’m familiar with one of his relatives.” _

 

“Big family.”

 

_ “Ha, like you can talk Uchiha. I got a few of my buddies in tow. We are all from the same general area so we decided to all go back together. You know, saving the planet and the oceans.” _

 

“Yeah, importantly the oceans right?”

 

_ “Well, yeah we need water to live right?” _

 

“Of course. Thanks for that. I’ll talk to you soon.”

 

_ “Definitely. See ya, ‘Tachi.” _

 

Itachi laid on his bed, looking through his social media. Sakura sent him a snap of the load of dishes her parents dispelled on her to do before she could leave, captioned ‘W E A K’

 

Itachi sent back a few laughing emoticons before locking his phone and hopping in the shower.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Itachi stepped back and looked in his body length mirror. He was wearing a pair of dark slim chino pants, black and white striped t-shirt with an olive cargo style jacket, he’d only worn once because he thought it had too much edge. The Uchiha pulled his raven hair up into a ponytail higher than he usually does. He grabbed a light brown scarf that would match his classic white converse. He closed his door behind him, meeting Sasuke in the hallway, who was clad in all black. Black v-neck, black leather jacket. Black jeans and expensive black sneakers to match. 

 

“You look like a funeral.”

“And you surprisingly don’t look like a funeral,” Sasuke cunningly replied.

 

He scoffed and headed down the stairs behind his brother. Only their mother was home, Fugaku usually worked late on Fridays. 

 

“We are leaving, okaasan!” Sasuke called out. 

 

Mikoto walked into the room, “Okay, boys. Be careful and safe. If it gets too late just spend the night there.” She walked over and pulled them both into a hug. 

 

The pair walked to the garage. “Who’s driving?” Sasuke asked. 

 

“Me.” Itachi answered, “we have to get Sakura too.”

“Are you two like best friends now?”

“No.”

“Well, I thought you were gay.”

“I am and so is she.”

“Well, why are we picking her up?”

“Why are you questioning me?”

 

Sasuke opened the passenger’s door and got in, “no reason.”

 


	5. Scarlet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a few hours late, according to when I said I'd post the second part of last night's chapter. Sorry.
> 
> Anyway, I hope everyone that reads this fic enjoys this chapter, I literally wrote this in retrospect to my party days, which were short-lived and long gone. 
> 
> Love you all that continue to read any of my work. xx
> 
> Thank you!
> 
>  
> 
> -I don't own Naruto, Kishi-sensei does.-

They arrived at Sakura’s and Sasuke sent her a text letting her know they were there. “Sasuke. Get in the backseat.”

 

Sasuke frowned. “Why? Why does your lesbian girlfriend get to sit in the front?”

 

Itachi sighed, “don’t be a brat, that’s just polite.”

 

As Sasuke grudgingly got out of the car to climb in the back of the M6, Sakura was exiting her house.

 

Sasuke paused, eyes fixated on Sakura as her bare legs strode to the car. Her mauve dress was flowy but hugged her body in the right places, and she wore a pair of nude ankle boots. She clutched the scarf around her neck and the long sleeves of her dress to fight the crisp wind.

 

“What is it Sasuke?” Sakura asked.

 

Itachi laughed as Sasuke scoffed, probably embarrassed.

 

“You look beautiful,” Itachi complimented.

 

“Thanks, and thank you also, Sasuke-kun.”

 

“Hn.” Sasuke said in return.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

As they walked into Naruto’s house, Itachi was already for sure that this was not for him. Music echoed the house. Itachi scouted the area and it looks like Naruto locked up everything of value, everything breakable or priceless.  _ Hm, he’s seasoned at this _ . Sasuke followed Sakura who was headed to find Naruto. Itachi followed. They didn’t have to look long because he found them first. “SASUKEEEE! YOU GUYS!” The group he was entertaining turned around to Sasuke, to greet him. Naruto walked up to Itachi and pulled him into a hug, “Itachi nii-san, you came!” 

 

Itachi hugged back, still a little nervous. After he said a few words to Naruto he fought through a group of people standing in way of the kitchen. Sakura followed behind him, “you okay Itachi,” she asked over the music. Itachi nodded. “I’m just a little thirsty,” he grabbed a cup weary of filling it with whatever was on the counter.

 

Sakura laughed, “do you drink? Although, if you drink Naruto has a rule that you have to stay over if you do.”

 

“No. I don’t want to drink and I planned on that anyway.”

 

“Well, let me get you something then.”

 

Sakura poured them both something to drink and they both leaned against the counter opting for soda, Sakura choosing to sing along to the music when three familiar brunettes stepped into the room. Neji didn’t look too miserable but Hinata and TenTen looked fairly thrilled. Naruto must have had Hinata senses because he flocked to her within seconds, dragging her along to dance with him to the hip-hop song. Neji and Ten found them probably because of Sakura’s hair. Sakura wrapped her slender arms around the brunette's neck and kissed her on the cheek, whispering something in her ear, while Neji fell to Itachi’s side. 

 

“I hate parties,” Neji said.

 

“Same.” Itachi replied.

 

Tenten laughed, “don’t be such a stick Neji Hyuga.” She turned to Sakura, “I think you owe me a dance for showing up looking  _ this _ damn good.”

She blushed, punch filling her cheeks, “I’ll be back Itachi.”

 

Neji sighed, “so, where is your brother?”

 

Itachi shrugged, not really putting much thought into it, “I don’t know.”

 

“Probably off making out with some girl,” Neji said with a bit of sourness in his tone.

 

Itachi noticed but he shook it off, dismissing it as Neji’s annoyed attitude with being here.

~~~~~~~~~~

 

It was now a little after 10 pm and the party was in full effect. People filled the open area of one the Uzumaki’s living rooms, even with the majority of the furniture pushed against the walls. Some of the guests were dancing, bodies clinging close to their partners to the rhythm of the music, some were having video game competitions on the sizey 4k television, and some were standing around talking or spectating in the game of beer pong. People were even outside, mainly smoking but some were chatting probably to get away from the noise for a more intimate conversation. 

 

Itachi sat on one of the couches, speculating as Naruto won his 3rd straight match of pong, with the almost lilac-eyed, sable-haired girl attached to his side by a toned, tan arm as if he would lose her if he didn’t. Itachi blinked in amusement as Neji volunteered to face the triumphant blonde which would result in a pissing contest on Neji’s side.

 

Itachi observed other party goers, the majority were people he’d passed in school, almost everyone there was juniors and seniors. A few he associated with from time to time, like Shikamaru Nara who was leaning against a wall, cup in hand, boredom outlining his face while an attractive, lively girl whom Itachi had never seen before, stood beside him engaged in conversation. Itachi looked around, still yet to see Sasuke again. He wondered for a split second if he should go look for him but he was interrupted by  _ his _ annoying blonde. 

 

“Tsk, Uchiha. What the fuck are you doing here, un?” Deidara plopped right beside him, his high ponytail swaying as he sat. 

 

Itachi chose to ignore him, but Deidara looked at him with intent like he  _ demanded _ an answer.

 

He’d like to say he was forced, dragged along and coerced into being here, at this place, this party, this was beyond out of character for him.

 

But, no. He wasn’t forced and although Neji volunteered him, it was himself that told his parents he’d be going out, it was himself that ensured he was going when someone in his circle of associates brought it up, and it was himself who pulled together an outfit and got dressed and driven here. 

 

“Change of pace I guess,” he calmly answered back to Deidara.

 

Deidara was silent before releasing an accepting grunt. The pair sat in uncomfortable silence, but neither of them had enough will to walk away. Deidara fidgeted with his hands. The movements were noticeable in Itachi’s peripheral, so he stole a glance at the blonde nuisance.

 

Deidara lived in slouchy long-sleeves, tonight was no exception, as the sleeves of his open-buttoned flannel hung low, barely revealing dark, moss green painted nails. The low-cut shirt he wore underneath matched the shades of grey on his plaid flannel, revealing a tattoo on his collarbone, that Itachi couldn’t make out in the light. Itachi knew Deidara had a few tattoos here and there, his father was somewhat of a big deal in the ink industry, but either Itachi  _ really _ ignored Deidara or he’d never worn a low cut shirt around him because this was the Uchiha’s first time noticing it. The blonde wore dark jeans that were artfully ripped from thigh to knee, revealing yet another tattoo placed above his right knee. This one looked like a bird… kind of, but Itachi recognized this art style. It was Deidara’s own, which either he did himself or his father did for him. Either way, Itachi admired the man for his art… not so much his other quirks.

 

When Itachi was done examining Deidara and the silence became unbearable Itachi made light conversation, ‘so you usually spend a Friday night, like  _ this? _ ”

 

Deidara, halted by Itachi initiating conversation, shrugged. “Not usually but when Naruto has parties I do. They’re usually cool but I just come to be around him, yeah?” 

 

The blonde paused, Itachi could tell he had more to say so he looked at him intently, as he had done him. The blonde caught the hint and continued.

 

“I mean I know we aren’t closely related by blood but he’s like a younger brother to me. Has been since my family moved to this town and told me Naruto and I were related.” He paused, glancing again at Itachi. “Like, I was always…  _ me. _ Kids in my other town, my  _ hometown, _ didn’t take well to anyone,  _ different.  _ Naruto was the first friend I made because he invited me in like a brother, and I’m sure he would’ve done that even if we weren’t related.”

 

Itachi nodded, Naruto also was something like a brother to himself as well. The messy-haired blonde and Sasuke had been close since he could remember, despite an ugly start when they were in elementary school. Once they met Sakura, a balance was found and the three were inseparable. Much like he and his cousins Shisui and Izumi had been. 

 

The two sat and talked, despite the annoyance of having to speak louder than his usual tone, Itachi wasn’t having a bad time conversing with Deidara. 

 

They talked about Deidara’s home, which he described as a beautiful sculpture by Mother Nature herself.  _ Stone mountains and plenty of them.  _ Itachi told him a few funny stories he’d personally witnessed, about Naruto and Sasuke, which ended in light-hearted laughs from the doting ‘big-brothers.’ Itachi tugged at the jacket on his arms, taking it off due to the warmth of the room, next was his scarf. He draped them both around slender but fit, pale forearms. Deidara noticed and asked if he’d like to step outside for a second. Itachi was fine with that but refused to haul his belongings around.

 

“Think Naruto-kun would mind if I left these in his room?”

 

“Nah, un. I’ll go with you.” 

Deidara and Itachi trod the staircase, reaching the top floor of 3. It was obvious which room was Naruto’s with his overwhelmingly orange door, which matched his overwhelmingly orange walls and decor. When the two reached the door, Itachi had the sense to knock before entering out of courtesy, Deidara, however, didn’t. The blonde reached around Itachi and twisted the knob into what should have been an unoccupied space of orange filled with Naruto’s belongings. 

 

But there wasn’t. The room was occupied by a certain duck-butt haired Uchiha and a  _ scarlet _ -haired Uzumaki.

 

Itachi was unable to move for what felt like an hour but was really 3 seconds. His eyes although horrified, were frozen at the quick sight of his younger brother entangled with this young woman.

 

Sasuke was on top of her, caging her in with strong pale arms. The girl had her legs loosely wrapped around Sasuke's lower back and her hands buried in his raven hair, while he buried  _ in her _ . Thrusting in and out of her, rapidly. Drawing out sounds of satisfaction from the body beneath him. At the sound of the door quietly swinging open, Sasuke quickly glanced behind him, still working at his distracted lover, ready to tell whoever it was to fuck off. But the pair of paralyzed eyes burning into him, the pair of paralyzed eyes that resembled his own, were a pair he was not expecting to see. 

 

“What the fuck, Itachi?!” The younger Uchiha severed the connection between himself and the young woman, pulling a mess of orange blankets over both their naked bodies, barely noticing the other intruder. 

 

Itachi, who was still speechless awkwardly turned around and closed his eyes. “I just wanted to set my stuff in here, sorry.” He dropped his things in the corner behind the door, barely remembering to fish his phone from his jacket pocket and awkwardly maneuvered to the door but not before Deidara had a few words. 

 

“Oh. My. Fucking. God. Karin-neechan? Shit. Wait--no. I said wait a damn minute, yeah?” 

 

Itachi dragged Deidara from the room and quickly closed the door behind them. Itachi was crimson and all of his internal heat rushed to his ears and cheeks.

 

Itachi pulled Deidara a bit down the hall before sliding down the wall, to crouch on the floor, embarrassment intoxicating his entire body. Deidara was pretty much laughing at himself, not even noticing Itachi until he asked, “hey, you think Naruto knows his best friend is fucking his ‘ _ neechan?’”  _

 

“Un, you okay Itachi?” Deidara asked sliding down in a similar manner to sit beside Itachi. Itachi was overcome with shame, horrified and uncomfortable. 

 

“I know you’re probably trying to rid your mind of what just happened but I assure you it’s not the first or the last time that has happened and will happen to Sasuke. So like, don’t sweat it, un.”

 

Itachi realized he may have looked silly to any average person but he was an Uchiha and awkward situations were not handled well by them. There were only two people in his family that he knew for sure could make a pissing contest out of being asine and horrid and not caring that they were being asine and horrid. Sasuke and Madara. 

 

“Sorry, it’s embarrassing for me… stuff like this,” Itachi said unfolding his hands from concealing the burn of his face and ears.

 

Deidara chuckled and stood, extending a flannel-clad arm to assist him up, not that he needed though, “heh, so some things can shake the ever-so stoic Itachi Uchiha.”

 

Itachi smirked, “don’t tell anyone and I won’t tell anyone you’re a doting  _ niichan. _ ”

 

“Tsk, deal.”

 

They made their way back down the stairs when Deidara offered some advice. “Hey, wanna know how to get your mind off  _ that _ ? Alcohol.”

 

Itachi replied with a nonchalant ‘hn.’

 

_ Guess I’ll be here tonight after all. _


	6. Ash

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet another chapter, probably won't update again until Tuesday, I have plenty of homework. :c
> 
> But thanks to my awesome readers, I love you guys. xx

Itachi blinked a few times, allowing his vision to come into focus.  _ Good, at least that means I’m still alive. _ The Uchiha thought, waiting for the rest of his body wake up so he could assess where he was. He looked around without moving his head or body.

 

One thing was for sure. _ This place was mess. _

 

Plastic cups were everywhere along with leftover pizza, broken potato chip crumbs and god knows what else along with the smell of booze that lingered faintly in the air. A few bodies were stretched out in the room, most on the floor but a few were laid across the couches, one of them being Naruto who had his arms loosely wrapped around Hinata’s waist. Not far from them on the floor was Neji, who looked weirdly gentle, as his dark hair spewed around his face, facial features at ease for once. Itachi took a mental picture because he knew he’d never see this again.

 

As he started to become fully aware, Itachi reached in his pocket, hoping his phone was there. Front pockets.  _ Nope. _ Laying on his right side, he used his left hand and fished around, finding his phone back there. He pulled it out, checking it for damage.  _ None _ . He clicked the lone, round button, revealing his familiar lockscreen.  _ 7:34 am. _

 

Good. His parents were probably still asleep. Preferring to sleep in until about 9 am on weekends. As long as they were back by afternoon the Uchiha couple would think nothing of it.

 

_ Oh _ . Itachi thought.  _ Gotta find Sasuke. _

 

He rolled over to his other side, not expecting to see Deidara in his line of eyesight. The blonde appeared to be still asleep, he was also shirtless and too close for Itachi’s comfort. He inched himself away, to the edge of the soft throw blanket that was across their bodies.

 

Weird. Itachi brushed off the thought, choosing not to recall the events of a few hours prior. At least not when his head pounded like this.  _ Ugh. _

 

He eased himself up to sit, giving the blonde one more glance over. 

 

_ No one is free, even birds are chained to the sky. _

 

Itachi made a mental note to ask about the significance of his tattoos and birds.

 

The raven rose to his feet, stepping over Naruto’s friends to find Sasuke. But first, bathroom.

 

Itachi handled his business and washed his hands, looking at himself in the mirror. Taking in note of something he hadn’t seen himself in a while. He definitely remembered drinking last night, hence the headache but now even as all traces of alcohol faded from his body, he felt different, looked different. Confidence oozed from his pores now more than it ever has. He felt attractive, not that even ever considered himself to be subpar in the physical category, but what he felt was inner attractiveness.  _ Just what did I do last night. _

 

Itachi turned at the doorknob jingle, he definitely didn’t have the mind to lock it.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry. Didn’t know someone was in here,” the girl went to shut the door but Itachi pulled it open.

 

“No, it’s fine. I have finished anyway.”

 

The imposing girl had shoulder length teal hair and creamy dark skin. Itachi hadn’t seen her before because he’d remember that  _ hair  _ but she was studying him with intent. 

 

“Oh! Was I staring? Sorry, it’s just you look familiar but I’m sure I don’t know you.”

“Itachi. Itachi Uchiha,” he stated matter-of-factly.

 

She made the correlation that Itachi knew she would.

 

“Ah, Sasuke’s brother. Duh. Hehe, I’m Fu.” 

 

Itachi greeted her by name and exited the bathroom so Fu could use it.  _ Okay, now. _ He stepped back into the living area, noting that he must not have crept too quietly because a few people had woken, shaking their friends and forcing them from an alcohol-lidden slumber. Itachi walked into the kitchen, rudely and knowingly fumbling around for a water. He found an unopened one that was room temperature but he didn’t care at this point. A few lingering souls were to leaving and Naruto was at the door, accepting all the hugs, handshakes and pats on the back.

 

_ He really was well-liked. How was he and Sasuke even friends? _

 

Itachi sat on one of the barstools and Naruto walked over to plant himself on one beside him. “Ugh, this place is a mess, huh?” he said to Itachi with a laugh. 

Itachi nodded, already making it up in his mind to help the blonde clean this place up.

 

“Hehe, looks like you had a good time, Itachi.”

 

“Hn. I don’t remember much past your cousin easily convincing me to drink.”

 

“Yeah. He does have that effect on people.”

 

Itachi looked back at the blonde, who had now was a burrito in the free blanket space.

 

The younger blonde began again, “Seriously though if you want a recap just check snapchat. Good ol social media,” he flashed a cheeky smile.

 

Itachi pulled out his phone to check but was overwhelmed with notifications and texts from Kisame. He sighed and stuffed it back in his pocket.

 

“First things first, do you know where I can find Sasuke?” Naruto nodded and pointed to the door that led to the huge patio outside.

 

Itachi got up and walked over pulling the sliding door closed behind him. Sasuke was in his t-shirt and jeans, ditching his jacket, socks, and shoes. He took a drag from the cigarette that hung from his mouth and was staring keenly at nothing. 

 

“That’s bad for you, you know,” Itachi snuck behind him reaching slender hands up to the smoke and trying it for himself.  _ Awful. _ He handed the tobacco back to Sasuke, and while they tasted atrocious, Sasuke definitely dispelled every public service ad that preached about smoking not looking cool because even Itachi would admit, Sasuke looked cool. Drenched in black attire, damp bangs clinging to his forehead, fingers gently holding the cigarette in place as he let it rest inches against his thigh.

 

“Are you mad,” the words escaped Sasuke's lips and hung in the air as if Itachi were to reach up and grab them.

 

“No, quite the opposite actually.”

 

“Good.” Sasuke put the filter out and flicked it seamlessly into the metal trash bin, “Naruto’s place is a mess I offered our services.”

 

Itachi replied with a look that said ‘that’s fine’ because he intended on helping anyway. As the brothers returned to the house pretty much all that was left was Neji, Sakura, Deidara, Tenten, Hinata, a guy Itachi remembered to be Lee, and Kiba. Lee, Kiba, and Tenten were still asleep while the rest were chatting. Itachi noticed the annoyed look that tended to often be plastered across Neji’s face had returned.

 

Naruto grimaced while Neji scolded him like a potential father-in-law. Naruto and Hinata had been a couple before they could even really grasp the concept of “couple” and ever since Neji had been plagued with headaches. The pair was honestly made for each other, even Neji knew that. Hinata with her soft features and gentle tone and Naruto who has everything but. Opposites really did attract.

 

Itachi sat on the couch, while the group waited for the others to get up and pull themselves together. Finally, he pulled out his phone to check his notifications. He opened Kisame’s message thread. He skimmed over the few messages but paused to reread the last one.

 

He’d sent it this morning, not too long ago actually. Kisame was usually up early because he’d go for runs to keep his stamina up for the swim season. 

 

_ I just watched your snap story, for the 10th time. Lol, wow Itachi seems like my outfit advice worked.  _

 

He ended the message with a few laughing emoticons.

 

What.

 

Itachi quickly closed the application and opened Snapchat. He clicked his story at the top, the first few snaps were just selfies of himself and Sakura, and one with a grumpy Sasuke in the backseat, that Sakura insisted they take. 

 

The next was a few hours later and he faintly remembered being against that one as well but Deidara insisted they take a photo together because Itachi’s “stoic face would be less intimidating rockin’ the puppy filter.”

 

But the ones that followed were very faint in his mind.

 

The first was a video taken by someone else, assumingly Deidara based on how close his voice sounded in the background, and it featured Itachi doing a shots, gracefully throwing the liquor back to back down his throat.

 

The second was another video that confirmed Deidara was the cameraman,  _ when did I let him take my phone, _ Itachi though. It was also of himself and Deidara asking him how he felt, he smirked at the camera with piercing eyes, scarily resembling the Sasuke.

 

The next couple was of Itachi playing and beating Neji at pong. 

 

More selfies and a few of people he didn’t even know.

 

_ God. I’m annoying even myself. _

 

But the last snap of his night long story had to be the one Kisame was talking about, because even this one he had to go back and watch more than once.

 

Itachi was perched on Deidara’s lap--- _ nearly _ straddling him. The sable haired man had his arm around Deidara’s neck and they were both mouthing the words to the popular song that was blaring through Naruto’s house when Deidara pulled him into a short, sloppy kiss. Then the video ended--actually, the video ended before their lips even parted. 

 

Itachi snapped his head around to look at the blonde. Didn’t look like he cared, as he leaned against the granite counter. 

 

Itachi clicked the button to lock his phone but not before deleting the snap.

 

_ Does he even remember? Oh my god. I kissed Deidara. Well, Deidara kissed me… but still. Oh god. What do I do? _

 

Itachi was having an internal crisis when Sasuke came to stand in front of him, trash bag in tow. 

 

“You plan on helping, Itachi… wait, you okay?”

 

Itachi, whose face was flushed with panic, shook his head, “I’m sorry Sasuke, but I have to go. I’ll tell them you’re studying with Naruto.”

 

Before Sasuke could detest, Itachi dashed out of the house.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Hey, stop stealing my fries!” Sakura sternly joked. Naruto inched a tan hand away from the rouge haired girl’s food.

 

The infamous trio shared a booth at their favorite burger joint, one that they’d been coming to for years. It was kind of a go-to hang out when they were bored, it was late or when they needed a carefree atmosphere for heavy conversation.

 

“Seriously dobe, if you were going to eat off of our plates why didn’t order yourself some fries?” Sasuke looked annoyed but he wasn’t, everyone knew Naruto just took pride in being a nuisance. 

 

“Because this is more fun,” the blonde said cheekily. 

 

Sakura swirled a salty fry around in the cup of ketchup before changing the subject, “Hey Sasuke, is Itachi okay? Like one second he was at Naruto’s then the next he was gone… and he hasn’t answered my texts.”

 

Sasuke shrugged, “he’s at home but I plan on talking to him when I get home because he hasn’t answered mine either.”

 

Sakura and Sasuke exchanged their concerns when Naruto spoke up, “Deidara nii-san said he seemed fine last night. I mean he  _ looked _ okay. Maybe it’s a hangover?”

 

“Itachi doesn’t drink much but when he does the only thing he gets is headaches, nothing to make him  _ sick  _ over… but what do you mean Deidara said he  _ seemed fine _ last night. Deidara despises Itachi.”

 

Naruto laughed and Sasuke, along with Sakura sit in absolute puzzled ignorance. “Hehe, Dei definitely doesn’t not-like Itachi... Wait, where were you two last night?”

 

Sakura blushed at the question giving Naruto the answer he sought. Sasuke just sat stoically refusing to answer anything about his whereabouts.

 

“So I guess you guys wouldn’t know… especially since he wiped his social media activity from last night.” Naruto didn’t like to gossip so he leaned in a little to recall his observations of the night.

 

“Well, like I saw Deidara nii-san sit with Itachi and they were quiet for a while then next thing I knew they were coming from downstairs together… they were being, ya know, friendly. I was actually kinda surprised on Dei’s part. Anyway, a few drinks later and they're making out while Itachi was in his lap. I thought it was cute, ya know. But I totally thought I just concocted that in my head until I woke up and saw it with a sober mind.” Naruto finished somehow feeling uneasy. 

 

“You’re such a liar,” Sasuke challenged.

 

Sakura frowned at Naruto’s story also presuming it was absolutely false.

 

“I’m not lying! I’ll call Deidara… no better yet.” Naruto pulled out his phone and scrolled a bit before flashing a screenshot clearly of a video posted to @uchihatachi’s story.

 

“Oh fuck no,” Sasuke cursed. “Fuck. No. Wait how did you even get that?”

 

“I screenshotted it, duh. But I wanted to send it to Dei with a question mark... I was curious.”

 

“What’s the big deal, I’m happy for Itachi-kun.” Sakura shrugged, trying not to reveal her inner giddiness.

 

“It’s a big deal because Itachi would never do that with a sober mind, not to mention he’s terrified of what our family would think about him being gay.”

 

“I’m sure your family wouldn’t think less of him. The Uchiha are intimidating but they aren’t monsters.” Sakura carefully said.

 

“Sasuke grabbed his food tossing the rest in the trash. Let’s go to my house but first let’s make a quick stop,” he demanded, despite not being the one driving.

 

Sakura threw away her scraps holding on to the strawberry shake and followed Sasuke. Naruto, who was driving soon followed. “Hey you guys, wait up,” he said jumping out of the booth.

 

The three sat in the car waiting for Sasuke to give the next set of orders. “Where to Sasuke?” Naruto asked earnestly.

 

Sasuke typed int an address on his phone that he hoped was correct. “Here,” he said as he positioned the phone so the blonde could see it.

 

Naruto nodded and sped off accompanied by his two best friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahahahahahaha, I promise this is still a KakaIta fic although I do ship Deidara and Itachi & although their relationship does play significance in this fic the main pairing is Kakashi and Itachi.
> 
> P.S. I WILL NEVER WRITE A SEME ITACHI, okay maybe once but he'll forever be a bottom to me. <3


End file.
